Ro 10–9359 is a retinoic acid derivative, selected for study because of a better tolerance than retinoic acid, shown in animal experiments. Doses of 25 mg b.i.d., 25 mg t.i.d. and 50 mg b.i.d. were administered orally to 27 patients suffering from severe chronic generalized psoriasis. The clinical efficacy was evaluated by means of a new index, psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) based on severity and area of psoriatic lesions. At doses of 25 mg t.i.d. or 50 mg b.i.d. Ro 10–9359 proved to be an extremely potent antipsoriatic drug. A more than 90% reduction of psoriatic lesions could be seen in 10 patients out of 20 after 4–8 weeks of treatment. This good effect lasted about 5 weeks after treatment. Side effects were frequent, but mostly mild and completely reversible after termination of treatment.

Aims To study the prevalence of unknown atrial fibrillation (AF) in a high-risk, 75/76-year-old, population using N-terminal B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and handheld electrocardiogram (ECG) recordings in a stepwise screening procedure. Methods and results The STROKESTOP II study is a population-based cohort study in which all 75/76-year-old in the Stockholm region (n = 28 712) were randomized 1:1 to be invited to an AF screening programme or to serve as the control group. Participants without known AF had NT-proBNP analysed and were stratified into low-risk (NT-proBNP <125 ng/L) and high-risk (NT-proBNP ≥125 ng/L) groups. The high-risk group was offered extended ECG-screening, whereas the low-risk group performed only one single-lead ECG recording. In total, 6868 individuals accepted the screening invitation of which 6315 (91.9%) did not have previously known AF. New AF was detected in 2.6% [95% confidence interval (CI) 2.2–3.0] of all participants without previous AF. In the high-risk group (n = 3766/6315, 59.6%), AF was diagnosed in 4.4% (95% CI 3.7–5.1) of the participants. Out of these, 18% had AF on their index-ECG. In the low-risk group, one participant was diagnosed with AF on index-ECG. The screening procedure resulted in an increase in known prevalence from 8.1% to 10.5% among participants. Oral anticoagulant treatment was initiated in 94.5% of the participants with newly diagnosed AF. Conclusion N-terminal B-type natriuretic peptide-stratified systematic screening for AF identified 4.4% of the high-risk participants with new AF. Oral anticoagulant treatment initiation was well accepted in the group diagnosed with new AF.

Two randomized, double-blind comparison studies were conducted to evaluate the efforts of 2 emollient dry skin creams containing urea in the management of dry skin in atopic patients. Cream with 10% urea was shown to be effective in the management of dry skin and hand dermatitis. The cream with a pH of 6 caused less burning.

Ro 10-9359 is a retl·noic acid derivative, selected for study because of a better tolerance than retinoic acid, shown in animal experiments. Earlier clinical experience has proved Ro 10–9359 to be an extremely potent antipsoriatic drug. The well-known association between psoriasis and pustulosis palmoplantaris was a motivation to evaluate Ro 10-9359 also in the last-mentioned disease, which is notoriously known to be resistant to treatment. In this study 30 patients were given either 75 mg/day of Ro 10-9359 or 200 mg twice every week according to a randomized pattern. All patients had suffered from the disease for at least 2 years without any spontaneous remission during the year preceding the trial. After a treatment period of about 2 weeks with Ro 10–9359 hyper-keratotic scales had usually disappeared, and 2 weeks later there were in general significantly less pustular lesions. The treatment continued for 8 weeks, and at this time the average reduction of the number of pustules was 80%. The daily dosage seemed to give better results and was also better tolerated than was the twice-weekly dosage. Side effects were common, but generally mild. On average, the remission lasted 1 month after cessation of therapy.

The purpose of this investigation was to produce experimental tinea versicolor in rabbits and humans with Pityrosporum orbiculare and P. ovale. P. orbiculare and P. ovale were inoculated, with and without occlusion, on the inside of the ear in 10 male rabbits and on the upper arm in 10 patients with a history of tinea versicolor, and in 3 healthy volunteers. After 1 week tinea versicolor-like lesions were produced with both P. orbiculare and P. ovale in 8 of 10 rabbits. Likewise experimental infections, similar to those found clinically in tinea versicolor, were seen, after 1 week, in 5 patients with a history of tinea versicolor and in the 3 healthy volunteers. Two of 5 patients inoculated for only 4 days showed identical but less pronounced lesions. Experimental infections could only be produced with occlusion. Microscopically short hyphae and transformation between round and oval forms were seen in both P. orbiculare and P. ovale. This investigation adds to the identity of P. orbiculare and P. ovale and also to the identity of these 2 fungi and the fungus seen in tinea versicolor. Spontaneous healing and the fact that experimental infections were produced only under occlusion illustrates the importance of predisposing factors in tinea versicolor.